Advertising sign



NOV. 11, 1924- 1,515,444

P. w. SHEPHARD ADVERTISING SIGN Filed July 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet. 1

lnucnfom u- 4-1-7 Jz-W, Stratum Nov. 11, 1924- 1,515,444

P. w. SHEPHARD ADVERTI S ING S IGN' Filed July 7, 1922 s Sheets-Sheet 2 311 mm foz Peril a! 11 S/Zgofiawd I I V 49 J 2 M57 artonwq;

Nov. 11,

P. w. SHEPHARD ADVERTISING SIGN Filed July '7, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented New 11, 1924.

4 UNIT D 1,515,444 PATEN O FICE rnacivanw, snnrnaan', or Banana, Texas "ADVERTISING sren.

v Application filed July 7,

L To all may coacern:

Be it known. that "I, .PERCIVAL Snar- HARD, a'citizen of the United-States, resid- 1 color to another.

ing at Boerne, in the county ofKendall and 6 State of Texas,have invented certain'new and useful Improvements in, Advertising Signs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in "10 advertisingsignsi f The value of a sign-as an advertising medium depends in a large measure upon its powerto attract attention, and this in turn isdependent upon various} features chief wamongwhich may be mentioned 1i ht, color and motion, and Where a sign em odies all ofthese features it-attracts and holds'the.

attention with more certainty than where one or another of these features. is lacking.

A sign operating with the appearance of motion is more certain to attract attention than a sign from which this feature is absent. The display of colors, particularly when under condltions vof illumination, is

1 also a feature which greatly enhances the attractivenessof anadvertising sign. Where the colors are more or less frequently 7 changed, the attractiveness. isgreatly enhanced. The primary object of the present invention is therefore to provide. an advertising sign which in its operation willex-v hibit the appearance of motion attended b constantly changing lighting and color e fects thus com 'ining all of the features above referred to andproducing a sign capable of; attracting and holding I the attention of the observer with certainty and for.

present invention to obviate the employ ment of flashing mechanisms and at the same time to provide a simple andinexpensive means for producing a constantly changing display of colors under conditions s a general'way a modlficatlon of the mvenof illumination.

Another objection attending the use of .tinually changing or varyin spectrum.

192a. seriarm. 573,866,

signsemploying colored lights and flashing mechanism associated therewith is that there must usually be an abruptchange from one Therefore it is another important ob'ect of the invention to provide meansw ereby, throughout the area of the sign display surface, there will be a condisplay. of

colors and tints, the colors lending and gradually changing through a shadingoif into one, another, sothat a most pleasing effect lSPI'OdllCGd. In this connection the'invention contemplates the employment of color media embracing for example certain of the primary colors and functioning in such a manner as tov'efl'ect a blending of these colors tO'pI'OdUOG all possible spectral combinations thereof and thus display all colors and graduations of colors of the solar Another ob ectof the invention is to provide a sign construction of'such nature that the colorand lighting effects to be displayed thereby may be varied at will by substitution and rearrangement of parts.-

Another object of the invention is to ro-' vide a sign which while more attractive t an the majority of signs embodying expensive I flashing mechanisms, will be inexpensive to construct, install, and maintain in operation. I I

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a rspective view of embodying the invention;

Fig. '2 is a horizontal sectional view through the sign; a

vFig. 3 is a group'perspective view illustrating the sign character display surface,

the difiz'ractive medium, the light-ray pen cilling medium and the color impartin me dium in substantially their proper re ati've positions;

Fig. 4 is a vertical front to rear sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a view partly in section and partlyin-side elevation illustrating the tensioning roll for the color im artin medium and the means. supporting t is re v Fig. 6 is a fragmenta perspective view illustrating a portion of t 0 structure shown I Fig. 7 is a perspective view illustrating in ,tion 5 thesign are 4, a top F ig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 2 illustrating a modification of the invention;

ig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 5 illustratin a modified form of tensionin means; Fig. is a view similar to ig. 7 illustrating a modificationof the color imparting medium. H

The sign comprises a casing which is in dicated in general by the numeral 1 and which comprises a front indicated in general bythe numeral 2, end walls 3, a'rear wall 5 and'a bottom 6. The front 2 of the casing is preferably in the natureof a frame 7 bolted or otherwise secured, as at 8,

- to the openfront of the casing and rabbeted,

as at 9, orotherwise formed to accommodate and support certain members which will now be described. The sign display surfaceconsists essentially of three component parts or panes, indicated one by the numeral l0, and another by thenumeral 11, and the third by'the numeral 12. The member 10 -maybe in the nature of a'pane of glass, or a sheet of celluloid, or any other transparent, translucent or opaque material, and bears sign characters indicated by the numeral 13 which may be painted, cutout, or otherwise depicted upon or in'the said pane. As a general proposition the sign character will.

be transparent or translucent and the re- -maining area of the'pan'e will be more or less opaque, or if found desirable the sign characters may be more or less opaque, and the remaining area of the pane may betransparent or translucent Where the sign characters are painted or similarly depicted upon the pane, the advertising matter may of course be varied from time to time without 1 the necessity of substltutlng a new pane, or

it may be found desirable to employ cloth, paper, or some other similar material instead of glass in producing this element of the display surface.

The member 11 of the display surface preferably-comprises a pane of glass, one or both faces of which is molded. or otherwise provided with numerous prismatic projections or depressions as clearly shown 1n Fig.

3 of' the drawings and numeral 14.

The member 12 of the display surface comprises a pane or sheet of some opaque or indicated by the I translucent material and is provided with a number of small perforations '15 extending over its entirearea. If desired, instead of forming perforations in an opaque pane or sheet the pane or sheet 12 may be of opaque material except for transparent or-translucent punctiform areas correspondingto the perforations 15. In any event the pane 12, when employed, serves to transmit the light rays from the source of light to the panes 10 and 11 in the form of pencils and it may therefore be considered as alight ray pencilling medium. The prismatic pane 11 may be considered as a difi'ractive medium and therefore the sign display surface as a Whole may be said to consist of a sign character display surfaceproper, a diffractive medium, and a light ray pencilling medium and at this point it will be evident that the light rays from the source of illumination, comprising electric bulbs 16 suitably arranged within the casing l, pencilled by the perforations or transparent areas of the pane12 will be variously reflected in passing through the small prisms upon the face or 'faces of the pane 11 before'r'eaching the pane 10. It will also be apparent'at thispoint that if the source ofillumination or, as is more strictly speaking the casein the present arrangement, the color medium, is given motion, the constant shifting of the light rays will, by reason of the component parts of the display surface, be exhibited with a scintillating efi'ect most pleasing to the eye.

The color imparting medium is indicated 'in general by the numeral 17 and comprises a band of flexible, transparent or translucent material, indicated by the numeral18, and provided'with color fields '19, 20 and 21, which may respectively be red,yellow and blue. These color fields in the embodiment ofthe invention illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, are diagonally arranged upon the band 18 and are of regular marginal outline. However, the fields might be of irregular contour and extend otherwise than in a general diagonal'direction. The relatively adjacent-ones of the fields are separated by in-- within the casing at the ends thereof and immediately rearwardlyor inwardly of the sign display surface within the front 2 of thecasing. The roll 23 is provided at its lower end with a pinion 29 which is in mesh with a gear 30 carried at the lower end of a barrel 31 rotatablymounted within the rear portion of the, casing and upon the bottom 6 thereof. The numeral 32 indicates an electric motor having the usual shaft 33 which is provided with a worm 34 meshing with a worm gear -35 upon the upper end of the barrel 31. Inthis manner means is provided for imparting travel to the band 18 audit will 'be evident that the stretches 25 and 26 of the band will travel in opposite directions past each other.

The roll 24 constitutes a-tensioning roll and is'best illustrated in Figs. and -6 of the drawings. This roll comprises a hollow body 36 havingheads 37 fitted into its ends and receiving the ends of a spindle 38. .The

said ends of the spindle project beyond the the spindle is provided with a reduced pore lower ends of which are hinged, asat' 41,

tion 39,,as best shown in Fig. 6 The support for the tensioning roll comprises a resilient strip 40 of metal to the'upper and bearing leaves indicated-one by the nu- Ineral 42' and the other by the numeral 43.

The projectinglower end of the spindle39' 'is 'rotat-ably engaged in a bearing opening 44 provided in the lower leaf 43, and the upper leaf 42 is formed with a key-holeJsloti indicated by the numeral 45, the larger end of which. is of a diameter to permit' of the passage thereintoaof the projecting upper end of the spindle 38, and the narrower portion of which is designed to accommodate the reduced portionq39 of the said projecting end of the spindle. A. threaded stem 46,'or if desired a bolt, projects from .the'

intermediate portion of the strip and through the rear wall 4 of the casing 1, and

an adjusting nut 47 is threaded on to the rear end of this stem and bears against the rear face of the wall 4 and may be rotated to adjust the stem through the casingl and thus exert a greater or less tension upon the stretches 25 and 26 of the band 18 travel the band 18 passing about the roll '24.

The color fields 19, 20 and 21 may be considered' as spectral color fields, and the fields 22 as the white light fields, audit will be evident that when the sign is in operation and fields are opposite each other the rays will be tinted green; and, when the red and blue fields are opposite each other the rays will be tinted violet or purple. When the corresponding spectral color areas are brought opposite each other as for example the red opposite the red, the respective primary color will be intensified. On the other hand when the white light areas are brought'opposite any of the spectral color areas, the rays passing through the corresponding 1ast-- mentioned color area willbe tinted a lighter shade of such color. Also as non-corresponding ones of the spectral color fields of the two stretches begin to overlap in their passage past each other not only will the primary and various secondary colors be produced by a composition of the different color fields but there will also be produced Thus when I various shades of these colors. Thus as the pass each other in the manner stated, the

display'su'rface of the sign will be illuminated with a constantly shifting and con- -'-tin'ually varying array of colors embracing respective heads 37, and the upper end of practicallythe entire-solar spectrum. I

In the form of the invention above described thestretches 25 and 26 of the'band comprising the color imparting medium travel longitudinally of the front of the eas- "ingbut if desired an arrangement such as shown in Fig 7 of the drawings may b m'ade-use of and in this figure the numerals 48 and 49 indicate respectively rolls which are journaled in' the upper and lower portions. of the casing'at the front thereof.

In this arrangement'the color imparting mediuni comprises' a relatively "broad band 50 whichis passed over the rolls and 49 and has front and rear stretches 51 and 52 which "travel'inopposite directions and vertically.

A;p'inion 53 is fixed upon the'end of the roll 49 and meshes with an'idle gear 54 mounted within the casing, this gear being driven from a pinion 55 fixed upon the contour, following substantially the'figure of asinusoidal curve. v In the previously described embodlments of'the invention two stretches of the color imp arting'band are caused to travel between the source of illumination and the sign front, but in that form of the invention shown in Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings, the band,which is indicated by the numeral 61, is trained about idle rolls 62 at opposite ends of the front of the casing of the sign, and about other idle rolls 63 located at the opposite ends of the back of the casing so that a single stretch only of the band, indicated by the numeral 64, and passing between the rolls 62, is caused to travel between the source of illumination and the sign front. While in this arrangement there will not be produced the same blending of colors as in the previously described forms, nevertheless the efiect is pleasing to the eye. In this form the sources of illumination are illustrated in a general way and indicated by the numeral 65, and the casing is provided with a front constructed and arranged substantially in the same manner as the front previously described. Also in this form of the invention the band 61 is passed about-an idle roll 66 positioned somewhat in advance and at one side of one of the rolls 63 and relatively close thereto, and at a point adjacent the roll 66, the bandis passed about a tensioning roll which is indicated by the numeral 67 The roll 67 is p &

' mounted in a bearing yoke 68, and threaded stems 69 extend from this yoke through openings in the, rear wall of the casing for the sign and have tensioning nuts 70 threaded thereon, springs 71 being arranged upon the stems between the rear wall of the easing and the said nuts so as to yieldably resist inward or forward movement of the stems through the openings in said wall. Of course, by adjusting the nuts 70, the tension imposed upon the band 61 may be varied.

In that form of the invention shown in Fig. 10 a band constituting a color imparting medium and indicated by the numeral '7 2 is provided and is arranged and actuated substantially in the same manner as the band shown in Fig. 7. In this instance, however, the color fields 73, 7a and 7 5 which correspond to the color fields 57,

color medium comprising an endless band 58.and 59 of the band 50 extend generally in the direction of travel of the stretches of the band rather than diagonally or transversely of the line of travel, and they are spaced by intervening transparent areas 76 corresponding to the areas 60. 9

Having thus described the invention,

what is claimed asnew is:

1. In a sign, a display surface having a light ray transmitting portion, a source of 11 umination, and a 11 ht ray transmitting having stretches passing opposite each other between the source of illumination andthe display surface and travelling in o posite directions, the band having a plura ity of color fields extending in a series in the general direction of travel of the band, the color fields extending substantially diagonally of the band, and all inclined in the same direction, theband having white light ray fields interposed between adjacent ones of the said color fields.

2. In a sign, a travelling band, and a tensioning means for the band comprising a roll about which the band is passed,' a

spindle supporting the roll and having proecting ends, one of which has a reduced portion, and a resilient member su ported etween its ends, leaves hin ed to t e ends of the resilient member and aving bearin openings receiving the projecting ends 0 a the spindle, the opening in one leaf having a portion of a diameter to permit of the passage ,of the spindle theremto and another portion of less dimensions to receive the reduced portion of the spindle, and means coacting with the supporting means for the member for tensioning the same.

3. In a sign, a display surface having light ray transmitting portions defining sign characters, a diffractive medium comprising a faceted pane arranged in rear of the display surface, a perforated plate in rear of the diiiractive pane constituting a light ray pencilling medium, a light ray 

